Why the Batteries Plus Franchise Continues to Thrive

In March, as businesses across the country were forced closed to comply with state-enforced social distancing measures, certain companies deemed “essential businesses” were allowed to continue operating. Batteries Plus is one such business, with each of the franchise’s more than 720 units across the country allowed to stay open throughout the ongoing coronavirus crisis. While the essential business designation can be thanked for enabling the brand to stay open, it’s the franchise’s unique operational model, along with a few recent pivots, that are responsible for the brand’s eye-catching growth during a period when businesses across virtually every industry are scaling back.

Batteries Plus earned its essential business designation by providing products and services for medical devices like infusion pumps, monitors, defibrillators, EKG machines, respirators and ventilators, but the brand has also seen a substantial increase in demand for its consumer services.

“Device-repair has skyrocketed, primarily because we have remained opened while other repair locations, like Apple, haven’t been labeled as essential,” said Shirley Duehring, a six-unit Batteries Plus franchise owner in North Carolina, who says she’s also seen a spike in battery replacements for cell phones, thermometers and even lawn mowers.

That dual-revenue model, which provides services for both commercial and consumer clients, has proven profoundly lucrative for the franchise in recent weeks as both streams see an increase in demand.

“Typically with dual-revenue businesses, you expect one stream to support the business when the other is lagging, but that’s not the case here,” said Jon Sica, VP of franchise development at Batteries Plus. “Virtually all of our products and services have seen increased demand, even as the economy continues to decline. That’s not something you can find at many other businesses.”

Batteries Plus may have been uniquely well-positioned to survive the coronavirus crisis, but the brand has had to make some adjustments to continue reaching customers. Quickly after shops began to close in states across the U.S., Batteries Plus rolled out curbside operations for all products and services at every one of its stores.

Sica says the franchise’s specialty retail model and ability to adapt quickly has enabled the brand to continue expanding not only during the coronavirus pandemic, but throughout a range of crises in the past.

“Our model has survived a lot, from recessions to natural disasters and now this global pandemic,” Sica said. “We provide a service that people really need, especially in times of crisis, and when you couple that with our expertise, our focus on customer service and the credibility we have as an established brand, that’s what makes us an essential resource when times are tough.”

Batteries Plus’s success throughout the coronavirus crisis has not gone unnoticed, and the brand is already attracting new franchisee candidates. Since March, the franchise has signed three new franchise partners, including one who will open the brand’s first location in Vermont.

“A lot of people are looking for new opportunities right now, something that will give them more control over their career,” Sica said. “More than ever, they are also concerned with finding a business that will not only survive downturns in the economy but one that can lend a hand in a meaningful way. That narrows down the options quite a bit, and it’s leading a lot of great, passionate new entrepreneurs to Batteries Plus.”